Minutes of October 20th Place Making Meeting
MINUTES OF PLACEMAKING MEETING OCTOBER 20TH 2008
17 people were present to hear presentation by guest speaker ---
JOHN LUTON
Executive director of the Capital Region Bike & Walk Society &
Chair of the City’s Advisory Committee on Biking
John spoke of initiatives already in place in the city, including the Biking Master Plan and placement of U shaped racks in downtown areas. Said there were not enough temporary or permanent racks in place & further options need to be considered.
Re: Fernwood:
1. There is a precedent for use of Curb extensions with bike racks installed in front of cafes & other businesses by removing one car parking space. (For e.g. Habitat Café on Pandora below Government) The city wants businesses to prove that they have a demand for biking parking before installing them.
Biking Advisory Committee has proposed this option for Cornerstone, i.e., curb extension with bike rack along yellow line on Fernwood above Fernwood & Gladstone. Given existing yellow line the issue of parking space loss is not relevant here. And it is clear from number of bikes parked on sidewalk signs etc. that parking is needed. Issue is basically impact on pedestrian crosswalk and cost. City staff is now considering options. Once finalized, proposal will return to Place Making for community input. Current consensus is that support for a curb extension will be readily available.
2. John suggested designating Fernwood Square a bike route and looking to design features of the Square that would direct the flow of bike traffic so as to minimize the bike--pedestrian interchange currently apparent. Designation would encourage drivers on Fernwood Road to drive with more caution & it would therefore slow down traffic. We could then look at an intersection control that would facilitate both pedestrian and bike traffic across and onto Fernwood Rd. John showed images of Helmeken Park in Vancouver & Waterfront path in Nanaimo as examples where wide spaces have been left as a through route for bikes.
3. John also talked about the possibility of ‘sharrows’ on the downhill grade and an uphill lane for bikes on Fernwood Road. Bikers need the uphill lane as they are traveling slower on the uphill grade. But could use the center lane traveling downhill as they are traveling at at least the speed limit (30Km) on the downhill.
This system has been used successfully in hilly Seattle as well as Portland. Also in Portland, green is used to paint bike lanes, at least in areas that are potentially dangerous. There was support to adopted green bike lanes here. There was some concern that Fernwood is not wide enough to accommodate this.
4. Finally, John discussed the possibility of using various innovative methods of fitting bike parking to narrow spaces such as along the Belfry sidewalk at Fernwood Rd. and on Gladstone by the Fernwood Inn. And of trying out solutions on a temporary basis to get the right fit.
EXTENSIVE DISCUSSION FOLLOWED!
We thank John for his extensive work on these Fernwood biking issues and look forward to his returning with even more concrete plans.
The web site for more on John’s unique ideas is:
bycicleparkingonline.org
The minutes of meetings of the City Advisory Committee on Biking are posted on Victoria City web site at :
http://www.victoria.ca/common/index.shtml
17 people were present to hear presentation by guest speaker ---
JOHN LUTON
Executive director of the Capital Region Bike & Walk Society &
Chair of the City’s Advisory Committee on Biking
John spoke of initiatives already in place in the city, including the Biking Master Plan and placement of U shaped racks in downtown areas. Said there were not enough temporary or permanent racks in place & further options need to be considered.
Re: Fernwood:
1. There is a precedent for use of Curb extensions with bike racks installed in front of cafes & other businesses by removing one car parking space. (For e.g. Habitat Café on Pandora below Government) The city wants businesses to prove that they have a demand for biking parking before installing them.
Biking Advisory Committee has proposed this option for Cornerstone, i.e., curb extension with bike rack along yellow line on Fernwood above Fernwood & Gladstone. Given existing yellow line the issue of parking space loss is not relevant here. And it is clear from number of bikes parked on sidewalk signs etc. that parking is needed. Issue is basically impact on pedestrian crosswalk and cost. City staff is now considering options. Once finalized, proposal will return to Place Making for community input. Current consensus is that support for a curb extension will be readily available.
2. John suggested designating Fernwood Square a bike route and looking to design features of the Square that would direct the flow of bike traffic so as to minimize the bike--pedestrian interchange currently apparent. Designation would encourage drivers on Fernwood Road to drive with more caution & it would therefore slow down traffic. We could then look at an intersection control that would facilitate both pedestrian and bike traffic across and onto Fernwood Rd. John showed images of Helmeken Park in Vancouver & Waterfront path in Nanaimo as examples where wide spaces have been left as a through route for bikes.
3. John also talked about the possibility of ‘sharrows’ on the downhill grade and an uphill lane for bikes on Fernwood Road. Bikers need the uphill lane as they are traveling slower on the uphill grade. But could use the center lane traveling downhill as they are traveling at at least the speed limit (30Km) on the downhill.
This system has been used successfully in hilly Seattle as well as Portland. Also in Portland, green is used to paint bike lanes, at least in areas that are potentially dangerous. There was support to adopted green bike lanes here. There was some concern that Fernwood is not wide enough to accommodate this.
4. Finally, John discussed the possibility of using various innovative methods of fitting bike parking to narrow spaces such as along the Belfry sidewalk at Fernwood Rd. and on Gladstone by the Fernwood Inn. And of trying out solutions on a temporary basis to get the right fit.
EXTENSIVE DISCUSSION FOLLOWED!
We thank John for his extensive work on these Fernwood biking issues and look forward to his returning with even more concrete plans.
The web site for more on John’s unique ideas is:
bycicleparkingonline.org
The minutes of meetings of the City Advisory Committee on Biking are posted on Victoria City web site at :
http://www.victoria.ca/common/index.shtml
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